TRADITIONAL SICILIAN ALMOND COOKIES

The almond cookies are “a must” of the Sicilian culinary tradition. They are prepared with the Almond paste, called “pasta reale” in Sicily (King’s paste). The legend wants that the recipe was created in the XII century in the convent of the “Martorana” in Palermo and that his name is due to his goodness (worthy of a King!). These delicious cookies are as good as easy to do! Accompany them with a good tea, coffee or a glass of Marsala, the typical Sicilian sweet wine.

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MY FAVORITE ALMOND COOKIE AND WINE PAIRINGS!

Choosing the right wine is not so easy as it seems. Here my personal selection of wine I consider the best you can have to pair with this recipe: give them a try and let me know!

Ben Rye Passito di Pantelleria Donnafugata 2016 (375ML)

Passito di Pantelleria is one of the most famous Italian raisin wines. This traditional Sicilian dessert wine made with Zibibbo dried grapes has elegant fruity and Mediterranean notes: a perfect match with the taste of Sicilian almond cookies!

Marsala Dry Florio Italy (750ML)

Marsala is probably the most famous Sicilian fortified wine, worldwide known and appreciated. This wine is the protagonist of several Italian recipes, either savory or sweet, like Chicken Marsala or Zabaglione. Marsala comes into two different variation: sweet or dry, both delicious! Florio is the oldest Sicilian winery specialized in Marsala production since 1833: you can't miss to try their Marsalas!

Marsala Sweet Florio Italy (750ML)

Marsala is probably the most famous Sicilian fortified wine, worldwide known and appreciated. This wine is the protagonist of several Italian recipes, either savory or sweet, like Chicken Marsala or Zabaglione. Marsala comes into two different variation: sweet or dry, both delicious! Florio is the oldest Sicilian winery specialized in Marsala production since 1833: you can't miss to try their Marsalas!

MY PANTRY: BEST PRODUCTS AND INGREDIENTS FOR THIS RECIPE

Here some suggestions about ingredients and product to pair with my recipe, and the places where I find out them! Take a look and give me your opinion!

FABBRI AMARENA WILD CHERRIES

Years ago, when I wrote this recipe, unfortunately, these cherries were not available in the US, but now they are!
Fabbri Amarena wild cherries are a pillar of the Italian sweets tradition, thanks to their bold and decadent flavor! These cherries are great to prepare cookies and cakes, but also delicious over ice cream, into cocktails, and even paired with some cheeses and cured meat!
Use them as an alternative to the maraschino cherries.
If you love Italian sweet delicacies, you want to try them!

Pistacchiosa: sweet spread with Sicilian pistachios

Along with almonds, pistachios are one of the most loved and used Sicilian ingredients. This luxurious and decadent spread is similar to the density of classic chocolate spreads but made with pistachios: delicious!

Almond Flour - Fine

Almond flour is a critical ingredient into the Sicilian baking tradition! Naturally gluten free and refined from blanched almonds, this flour is the base of several recipes like Sicilian cookies or marzipan!

PREPARE THE ALMOND PASTE

First of all, sift the powdered sugar, then mix the sugar with the almond flour in a large bowl. After that, add the grated zests of half lemon and half orange into the bowl, 3 drops of vanilla extract. Finally, mix all the ingredients with the whites of 3 large eggs lightly beaten.

Work the dough until it is compact and homogeneous, then pour it into a pastry bag provided with a large decorating tip. Place the pastry bag into the refrigerator 20 minutes.

making the almond cookies

Line a baking pan with parchment paper. With the pastry bag, form cookies about 2 inches wide right on the parchment paper, add half Maraschino Cherry on the top of each cookie then put the drip pan in the fridge for at least 8 hours (it’s easy to prepare the almond cookies the night before for the following day!). The rest in the fridge is critical because the cookies don’t sag while cooking.

making the almond cookies

When the almond cookies are ready to be cooked, set the oven to 350° F and bake the cookies by taking them directly from the fridge. Bake the cookies 10-15 minutes, turning the dripping pan halfway through cooking, until they are golden brown. Finally, operate the broil a few minutes, until the cookies are golden! The almond cookies should be crispy outside and soft inside. Serve the almond cookies with a good tea, coffee or a glass of Italian dessert wine.

PRINTABLE VERSION

The almond cookies are "a must" of the Sicilian culinary tradition. They are prepared with the Almond paste, called "pasta reale" in Sicily (King's paste). The legend wants that the recipe was created in the XII century in the convent of the "Martorana" in Palermo and that his name is due to his goodness (worthy of a King!). These delicious cookies are as good as easy to do! Accompany them with a good tea, coffee or a glass of Marsala, the typical Sicilian sweet wine.

Author: Filippo Trapella - philosokitchen.com

Recipe type: Cookies

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 5

Ingredients

2 cups + 2 tbsp (200 gr) almond flour

1 cup + 10 tbsp (200 gr) powdered sugar

3 large egg whites

1/2 orange

1/2 lemon

10 Maraschino cherries or Fabbri Amarena wild cherries

3 drops pure vanilla extract

Instructions

PREPARE THE ALMOND PASTEFirst of all, sift the powdered sugar, then mix the sugar with the almond flour in a large bowl. After that, add the grated zests of half lemon and half orange into the bowl, 3 drops of vanilla extract. Finally, mix all the ingredients with the whites of 3 large eggs lightly beaten.

EGG WHITEWork the dough until it is compact and homogeneous, then pour it into a pastry bag provided with a large decorating tip. Place the pastry bag into the refrigerator 20 minutes.

MAKING THE ALMOND COOKIESLine a drip pan with parchment paper. With the pastry bag, form cookies about 2 inches wide right on the parchment paper, add half Maraschino Cherry on the top of each cookie then put the drip pan in the fridge for at least 8 hours (it’s easy to prepare the almond cookies the night before for the following day!). The rest in the fridge is critical because the cookies don’t sag while cooking.

ALMOND COOKIES INTO THE OVEN!When the almond cookies are ready to be cooked, set the oven to 350° F and bake the cookies by taking them directly from the fridge. Bake the cookies 10-15 minutes, turning the dripping pan halfway through cooking, until they are golden brown. Finally, operate the broil a few minutes, until the cookies are golden! The almond cookies should be crispy outside and soft inside.Serve the almond cookies with a good tea, coffee or a glass of Italian Marsala wine.

Hi Sharon, I’m sorry for that!
Where they flat before or after baked? If they were flat before baking, probably the drought was not firm enough: try to add a little more almonds flour and let me know. Remember: they need the rest into the fridge and baked immediately after the rest.

Love Love Love these cookies!!!! I work at an Italian bakery while attending high school and these were my very favorite! At Christmas time I switched favorites to Pinyolate( phonetic spelling). They were little balls of sweet dough, stacked atop one another, they were dipped in a honey syrup. I guess they are also known as strufoli. Loved working there. Very good people. We became like family.

Hi Lucille, thanks for your comment!
The almond flour is one of the ingredients used to prepare the almond paste. In this recipe, I describe the process to make the almond paste cookies starting from the flour.

Hi,
I just found this recipe, we all love almond paste cookies. I’m confused though, the earlier part of your description says almond flour, then the inside printed recipe says paste,then the “print recipe” states almond flavor?
Do you mean almond flour? Also, is there any almond extract in the mix? If it’s almond paste, how many ounces for the batch? usually the “bakery style” Italian almond horns or cookies have paste.
Well, I’ll wait to hear before I waste the ingredients.
Thanks, Debbie

Hi Debbie,
Thanks for noticing!
Actually “flavor” is a typo, I’m sorry about that. The dough is made with almond flour, whites, sugar, orange and lemon grated skins, and vanilla extract.
I often do these cookies for my friends, and sometimes I replace the vanilla extract with anise extract: delicious as well!

Hi Gen,
Beat the whites with a fork until they are smooth and clear with a little foam, but still liquid, with a density that permits to incorporate the almond flour easily.
Let me know if you need any more suggestions 🙂

Hi Lucia,
The almond paste is composed by the mixture of almond flour, sugar and whites. The process is described in the step “PREPARE THE DOUGH”: I just renamed this paragraph into “PREPARE THE ALMOND PASTE” to be more clear.

I made this recipe with difficulty but o far all my tasters think it is a keeper. I will be trying it again and seeing if I can make the dough less still than it was the first time. Taste is very good and the cookie is not very sweet, the way an Italian cookie is supposed to be

Hi Lucia,
I’m very happy you liked the taste of these cookies! Just a suggestion: with a too soft dough could be difficult maintaining the shape of the cookies. Let me updated about your experimentation 🙂

Hi Janet,
my oven requires a few minutes of top broil to golden brown the cookie perfectly. Just take a look at your cookies once cooked to decide if it is necessary or less. Baking is a very personal matter between the cook and his oven 😉

Yes, you can. In the first part of my recipe is basically described how to make homemade almond paste. I prefer starting from almond flour because it’s not difficult and I have the complete control of the ingredients.